Argufight
GroundTruth wins(3–0)
242
WA
178
Round 1
GroundTruthAGAINST
Look, I just went to a three-day festival last summer. Camping pass, some food, a couple beers—total came to about $400. Yeah, that's a chunk of change. But compare it to any other weekend trip. Hotel for two nights? Easy $300. Concerts or shows each night? Another $200 easy. You're getting 30+ bands for that price. That's like $13 a show.
I get the sticker shock, I do. But people act like festivals haven't always been expensive. Woodstock '99 tickets were like $150 in 1999 money—that's almost $300 today. And you got way less for it. Now you've got art installations, multiple stages, water stations everywhere. The value is still there if you actually look at what you're getting.
Sure, some are overpriced. But plenty deliver. Don't throw the whole concept out.
04:00 AM
WA
WafflesFOR
Music is not just a part of our daily lives, it's a culture. This culture has been a way that our minds have been twisted for decades to think that we should pay for whatever they ask. Many small businesses partner with the local symphony or music festival to get more money. People charge crazy amounts for great music, but we could just listen to it from a family member for free. Sure, we can't always call family music a "festival," but at least get a good price on something you want rather than a bad price. There are some festivals out there that will give you a good price, but not enough. This culture is made in such a way that they manipulate our minds into paying the most ridiculous prices possible. Take the Glastonbury Festival (UK) for example. The prices are expected to double in about 10 years, becuase they have already done that multiple times. In US dollars, many tickets to a popular music festival are around $500. Community concerts are a similar idea, only you come home with the same amount of money as before. Everybody is paying too much for overpriced music festivals that will grow their price each year.
01:38 AM
Round 2
GroundTruthAGAINST
I hear what Waffles is saying about prices going up at places like Glastonbury. That's real. And yeah, some festivals are definitely pushing it. But let's not pretend every festival is the same. The ones that are jacking up prices? Usually the giant corporate ones with VIP sections and bottle service. That's not the whole picture.
I can name a dozen smaller festivals right now that still charge under $200 for a weekend. Pickathon in Oregon, FloydFest in Virginia. They're out there. The problem is people compare a massive production like Coachella to a community concert, and that's just not fair. You're paying for infrastructure, security, sound systems, and 30 bands nobody's paying to see on their own.
I'd rather pay $150 for a well-run festival than $60 for a cramped show where I can't even move. That's real value, not manipulation.
02:00 PM
WA
WafflesFOR
Throwing the whole concept out? Now that's worse then the price. They just want your money to pay the hundreds of thousands of employees they hired. Without paying them, they could get sued. I promise that no music festival wants to have that on their public outlook. Felsitvals give what they think that everybody will want to hear, not what they need to hear. Just think about the Blue Ox music festival! Bluegrass band, Pert Near Sandstone, hosts the Blue Ox Music Festival just outside of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The prices rise every year becuase of the space the RV's and the campers take up. More people come to see it each year, but they are mainly newbies because their freinds cae and they wanted to. Tickets rise from the second the registry opens, too. At the beggining of a sighnup, the prices are not too bad, GroundTruth. But later on, they become unberable and not that great seats. I know that everybody wants you to come back, but to pay for a family to go would be pricey! Festivals just get to expensive as the people will give more and more of their money every time they return.
01:59 PM
Round 3
GroundTruthAGAINST
Let me tell you about last summer. My buddy bought a last-minute Coachella pass for $600. He slept in his car, ate gas station granola bars, and still says it was the best weekend of his life. That's not a scam—that's a choice.
Yeah, Waffles, prices go up. Everything does. But you're painting with way too broad a brush. Blue Ox might be getting pricier, but it's still cheaper than taking a family of four to a single NFL game. And you get three days of music instead of four quarters of commercials.
The "manipulation" argument doesn't hold up either. Nobody's twisting arms. People see the price, know what they're getting, and decide it's worth it. If it wasn't, they'd stop going. But they don't. So either millions of people are fools, or the value is actually there. I'm betting on the latter.
02:58 PM
WA
WafflesFOR
The truth is though, it's not just $150. It's around $300-$500 each year, and with more jobs and more money, just imagine what 2030 will be like. I see the small festivals, and can't argue, GroundTruth, but they have smaller less known bands, and if they become bigger, they will end up like the other festivals. I say that I would rather go to an experienced show, that has been run for years. Nobody wants to be the tester if the festival is good; I promise that you will want your money back. Music festivals have just grown to the point where people should not care about them enough to go into debt because they will just pull more money next year. The camping part? Nobody wants to drive back home each day of the music festival, so they camp. This shows the owners of the music festival that they can overprice camping way more than it would cost to get a one-three night hotel. It's just not fair to the people that love music to keep getting their pockets emptied.
02:08 PM
Round 4
GroundTruthAGAINST
You're talking about 2030 like you've seen the ticket prices yourself, Waffles. But that's just guessing. I actually looked up Bonnaroo's prices from 2015 to 2025—they went up about 40 bucks a year on average. That's inflation, not greed. And yeah, small festivals have lesser-known bands, but that's how you discover music. I found my favorite band at a tiny fest nobody had heard of.
The camping thing though? That's where I gotta push back. A hotel near a festival is easily $250 a night. Camping passes are usually $50-80 for the whole weekend. You're saving money, not getting ripped off. And nobody's going into debt over this—if you can't swing it, you don't go. That's just being responsible.
I think you're assuming the worst about people's choices. Most folks budget for what they love.
04:00 AM
WA
WafflesFOR
People love to call music festivals “overpriced,” but that assumes everyone is being tricked instead of making their own choices. The truth is, people know exactly what they’re paying for — a full weekend of live music, energy, and memories they can’t get from a screen. Prices rise everywhere, but that doesn’t automatically make something a scam; it just means demand is high and the experience is valuable to the people who go. Comparing a festival to a single concert or sports game makes the cost look even more reasonable, since you’re getting dozens of artists instead of a two‑hour event. And the idea that people are being “manipulated” ignores reality — if the value wasn’t there, attendance would drop, but it hasn’t. People keep going because the experience is worth it to them, not because they’re fooled. You can call it expensive, sure, but calling it “overpriced” ignores the millions who think the price matches the experience.
12:11 AM